GASTRONOMY REVIEW: Embankment Kitchen, Salford.

 

A restaurant attached to an apartment / hotel, secluded and well away from the city hustle, inconspicuous, almost missable, but once inside it is light and airy with plenty of natural light and space to manoeuvre. Everywhere is extremely clean and the gender neutral toilets, spotless. Music is played, if anything just a little too loud to be counted as background, but it didn't truly interfere too much.

The service is efficient and speedy - too speedy at times, not giving me the chance to have read the menu properly or have a little pause between courses, and considering the restaurant had only three other guests the whole time I was there, this seemed a little odd.

The food was a mix of the very good and the not-so-good. In general I enjoyed the food, but was disappointed by some of it. The portions are hearty and the cuisine is basically British but with the odd dalliance here and there to other countries, including East Asia and Italy.

For my starter I chose Salt And Pepper Squid. These were served in a soy and mirin dressing - meaning the final two pieces of squid at the bottom of the dish were very soggy and the crispy batter was no more. The Asian salad it is served with is a selection of different coloured bell peppers, onion, and chili. A lime and coriander mayo is presented in a separate smaller bowl for you to dip your squid into. The squid was slightly undercooked. It is extremely difficult to cook squid perfectly I know, it is an artform all of its own, and just a second too long can make the difference between perfect and overcooked... however, this was distinctly a few seconds the other way! Somewhat disappointing.

The main course I chose was the chargrilled lamb rump. The lamb was tender and tasty, although it had been cut into small slices, so much easier to cook I guess. This was served with sauteed new potatoes, some of which were perfectly cooked and delightful, but those that were a little larger had not been cooked nearly enough and were hard. It also came with lemon asparagus - where the lemon was goodness only knows...! and these were served almost raw, not even cooked enough to be called al dente!-, and a pea, baby gem and pancetta sauce which was tasty but poured all over the meal and left in a large lump on top of the already piled high potatoes and lamb it looked messy and unappetising.

 

Fries - yes, fries and sadly not chips - was my side of choice, and these were served as is the mode these days in a greaseproof paper swirl in a metal cannister. Unfortunately there was so much added salt (huge crystals) on these that I was forced to scrape it off before eating. In fact, there was a LOT of salt in the main meal too. Too much really. This should be a condiment for customers to add as their tastebuds prefer, not a main ingredient.

My dessert was lemon meringue pie. Well, it would be more correct to call it a lemon pie, since the topping of meringue was almost non-existent, making the lemon part of the pie all the more sickly due to it's lack. This was served with cold stewed blueberries, which was a delightfully inspired idea and was lovely. A little cream however would have made it more acceptable.

A lack of attention to detail and presentation was obvious throughout, and although the portions were hearty and the price acceptable, be aware, they add a service charge on the bill, and like the Americans do, they calculate the tax separately and add it to your bill at the end too so the bill may come as a surprise unless you are aware. 

Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu